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PRESS

Petaluma Farm Co-Owner Testifies Animal Welfare Activists ‘Startled’ Chickens

October 6, 2023

Press Democrat

[Direct Action Everywhere/DxE] argues they believed the animals were being mistreated. Referencing California’s animal cruelty laws, they contend they had the right to rescue animals in distress.

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PRESS

Petaluma Farm Co-Owner Testifies Animal Welfare Activists ‘Startled’ Chickens

October 6, 2023

Press Democrat

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PRESS

Court Watch: ‘Open Rescue’ Trial Underway

October 6, 2023

Davis Vanguard

In Deputy District Attorney Robert Waner’s opening statement, the prosecutor told jurors Hsiung and DxE activists believe that compassion should be extended to all animals.

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PRESS

Court Watch: ‘Open Rescue’ Trial Underway

October 6, 2023

Davis Vanguard

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PRESS

Sonoma Rescue Trial Defense Can't Show Animal Cruelty Video

October 6, 2023

UnchainedTV

The judge in the Sonoma rescue trial of animal rights activist Wayne Hsiung has ruled against allowing him to show videos of suffering ducks and chickens to the jury.

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PRESS

Sonoma Rescue Trial Defense Can't Show Animal Cruelty Video

October 6, 2023

UnchainedTV

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PRESS

Activist Tells Sonoma County Jury He Committed No Crime; Sought Only to Help Animals

October 5, 2023

North Bay Business Journal

Hsiung told jurors Thursday the activists support transparency and their ultimate goal is to expose mistreatment of animals. “You cannot fight a shadow with more shadows. You fight a shadow with light,” he said.

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PRESS

Activist Tells Sonoma County Jury He Committed No Crime; Sought Only to Help Animals

October 5, 2023

North Bay Business Journal

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PRESS

Letter to the Editor: It’s Time to Confront Violence Toward Animals

October 4, 2023

The Daily Illini

Open rescue doesn’t just win legal victories — it raises larger societal questions about how animals ought to be treated. If animals have a right to be rescued, should we even allow them to be exploited or killed in the first place?

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PRESS

Letter to the Editor: It’s Time to Confront Violence Toward Animals

October 4, 2023

The Daily Illini

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PRESS

Activists Protest 4th Horse Death in Two Weeks at Golden Gate Fields

October 3, 2023

KTVU/Fox 2

"It's tragic, but it's not that surprising," [activist] Paul Darwin Picklesimer said. "The deaths are just simply inherent. No matter what they do, there are always going to be deaths."

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PRESS

Activists Protest 4th Horse Death in Two Weeks at Golden Gate Fields

October 3, 2023

KTVU/Fox 2

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BLOG

A Baby Chicken Taught Me to Never Give Up Hope. His Name is Vincent.

October 1, 2023

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BLOG

A Baby Chicken Taught Me to Never Give Up Hope. His Name is Vincent.

October 1, 2023

To everyone who doesn’t believe in a better world, I understand. I feel your pain and I know how hard it is to keep going in a world as painful as ours. But, just a glimmer of hope saved Vincent’s life and it might just save the rest of the animals, too. So please, don’t give up.

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PRESS

COURT WATCH: 2nd California Animal Rights Trial Involving ‘Open Rescue’ Ongoing in Santa Rosa

September 25, 2023

Davis Vanguard

Hsiung is proceeding to trial as his own attorney, facing multiple felony conspiracy charges for his involvement in mass protests where hundreds of activists openly rescued animals at factory farms in Sonoma County in 2018 and 2019.

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PRESS

COURT WATCH: 2nd California Animal Rights Trial Involving ‘Open Rescue’ Ongoing in Santa Rosa

September 25, 2023

Davis Vanguard

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PRESS

1 of 2 Activists Accused of Stealing Livestock from Petaluma Farms Reaches Deal

September 22, 2023

Press Democrat

Priya Sawhney pleaded no contest to two counts of trespassing and was ordered to do 100 hours of community service through the Sonoma County Volunteer Center.

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PRESS

1 of 2 Activists Accused of Stealing Livestock from Petaluma Farms Reaches Deal

September 22, 2023

Press Democrat

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Our Top Press Hits

TOP PRESS

After Pork Giant Was Exposed for Cruel Killings, the FBI Pursued Its Critics

February 17, 2021

The Intercept

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TOP PRESS

Charges dropped against activist who exposed Iowa hog deaths

January 29, 2021

ABC News

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TOP PRESS

Activist posing as Smithfield CEO hoaxes Fox’s Maria Bartiromo

December 23, 2020

The Washington Post

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TOP PRESS

The Next Pandemic Could Come From an American Factory Farm

December 11, 2020

VICE News

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TOP PRESS

New Documents Reveal How the Animal Agriculture Industry Surveils and Punishes Critics

October 10, 2020

The Intercept

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TOP PRESS

Hidden Video and Whistleblower Reveal Gruesome Mass-Extermination Method for Iowa Pigs Amid Pandemic

May 29, 2020

The Intercept

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TOP PRESS

The animal rights protesters disrupting Joe Biden and Bernie Sanders rallies, explained

May 5, 2020

Vox

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TOP PRESS

Who Are the Anti-Dairy Protesters Who Interrupted Joe Biden’s Big Night?

March 4, 2020

The New York Times

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TOP PRESS

Animal rights group claims it found animal neglect at facility owned by state senator

January 25, 2020

The Hill

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DxE's Blog

BLOG

Believing Is the First Step to Animal Liberation

September 10, 2024

If people do not believe that they can change a situation, they will never act to do so. If we do not believe that animal liberation is possible and that we can make it happen, it never will. In fact, animal agriculture and other unjust systems rely on our hopelessness and cynicism.

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BLOG

Ten Things You Need to Know About the Company Trying to Put Me in Prison

April 29, 2024

My findings show that “No Antibiotics Ever” just means that the chickens are still experiencing severe infection but they aren’t receiving the medication they desperately need. In one barn at a Petaluma Poultry factory farm in Santa Rosa, more than 10% of the chickens died by the time they reached 5 weeks. That is more than double the accepted industry mortality rate.

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BLOG

Newcomer's Perspective

December 26, 2023

The Sonoma County Court's actions didn't stop me but, instead, spurred me to further action just as it did for many others.

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BLOG

I’m Facing over 20 Years in Prison for Rescuing Animals, But I Am Not Afraid

December 2, 2023

Whether I lose my freedom for days, weeks, months, or even years, it is worth it to give even one or two animals a chance to experience freedom for the first time in their entire lives.

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BLOG

A Baby Chicken Taught Me to Never Give Up Hope. His Name is Vincent.

October 1, 2023

To everyone who doesn’t believe in a better world, I understand. I feel your pain and I know how hard it is to keep going in a world as painful as ours. But, just a glimmer of hope saved Vincent’s life and it might just save the rest of the animals, too. So please, don’t give up.

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BLOG

This Disabled Duck is at the Center of a Felony Case. His Name is Bruce.

August 30, 2023

If you saw a little duckling on his back, paddling his legs and struggling to get back up, what would you do? Would you keep walking? Or would you help him? 

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BLOG

Exposing Petaluma Poultry

July 1, 2023

Since 2018, DxE investigators have documented routine violations of California's animal cruelty laws at Petaluma Poultry factory farms, but the authorities refuse to intervene -- so they are taking action themselves to rescue the animals.

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BLOG

A Letter to the Editor Re: "Churchill Downs to Cease Racing as It Investigates Deaths of Horses"

June 5, 2023

Your story on the shutdown of the Kentucky Derby racetrack failed to provide important context: the growing worldwide movement to abolish horseracing.

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BLOG

Free Speech under Attack in Rural America

May 23, 2023

During my time in Utah, I found people willing to have open and honest discussions. Why, then, are high-ranking members of the Church and the police attempting to stop that from happening? Could it be that egregious abuses documented by DxE at Smithfield were getting too close to those in power? When open dialogue threatens a power structure, it’s time to scrutinize that power structure.

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Our Press Releases

PRESS RELEASE

VIDEO: Chickens Survive “Roasting Alive” Mass Killing at Billionaire NBA Tycoon’s Factory Farm

April 11, 2022

Criminal complaints were submitted to Iowa Attorney General’s Office and county attorney, alleging criminal livestock neglect

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PRESS RELEASE

VIDEO: UCB Students Present Satirical “Factory Farm Defender” Award to Chancellor Carol Christ

April 10, 2022

UCB administrators claim the world’s largest chicken producer doesn’t use factory farming

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PRESS RELEASE

VIDEO: Animal Activist Superglues Herself to Table at California State Capitol, Disrupts Assembly Meeting

April 5, 2022

Bill for moratorium against new factory farms was changed into bill calling for a study of the industry’s impacts

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PRESS RELEASE

100+ Attend State Capitol Rally Supporting Factory Farm Moratorium Bill

March 8, 2022

The coalition event featured attendees representing Direct Action Everywhere (DxE), Sunrise Bay Area and the CA Democratic Environmental Caucus.

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PRESS RELEASE

Utah judge rules to gag evidence of cruelty, disease at Smithfield Foods in trial of prominent animal rights activist

February 23, 2022

Two defendants face years in prison after removing sick piglets from the largest factory pig farm in the U.S.

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PRESS RELEASE

California Assemblymember Introduces Moratorium on New Factory Farms and Slaughterhouses

February 20, 2022

California Assemblymember Adrin Nazarian (D-Van Nuys) introduced a bill Friday to enact a moratorium on new factory farms and slaughterhouses statewide. Assemblymember Alex Lee (D-San José) is a joint author on the bill, AB 2764.

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PRESS RELEASE

BREAK UP WITH TYSON: UCB Students’ Valentines Day Protest Calls Out University Sourcing from Factory Farms

February 13, 2022

UC Berkeley administrators claim the world’s largest chicken producer doesn’t use factory farming

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PRESS RELEASE

After Mass Pig Killing Case Dismissal, State Capitol Protesters Decry “Ag-Gag” Laws

January 21, 2022

Demonstrators allege widespread criminal animal abuse by Iowa Select Farms

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PRESS RELEASE

Iowa “Ag-Gag” Prosecution Dismissed Against Man Who Exposed Mass Pig Killings

January 18, 2022

Prosecution moved to dismiss case in advance of hearing on expanding media access to trial

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